1. Field of the Invention
The present invention discloses new antimicrobial compositions to control plant diseases and to prevent microbial spoilage of crops.
2. Description of Related Art
It is estimated that about 25% of the world crop production is lost due to microbial spoilage, of which spoilage by fungi is by far the most important cause. Not only from an economical point of view, but also from a humane point of view it is of great importance to prevent spoilage of food products. After all, in many parts of the world people suffer from hunger.
Success in combating plant and crop diseases and in reducing the damage they cause to yields and quality depends greatly on the timely application of fungicides. The prolonged and frequent use of many fungicides such as e.g. benzamidazoles has contributed to reduce their effectiveness thanks to the development of phenomena of resistance.
Recently, new fungicides of other chemical families such as e.g. anilinopyrimidines have become commercially available (see WO 03/011030, FR 2 828 065 A1 and WO 2005/074684). Although these fungicides have shown activity against fungi, spoilage problems still occur. Moreover, several studies have shown that more and more fungi acquire resistance against these fungicides too (see Moyano et al. (2004), Kanetis et al. (2008), Xiao et al. (2011)). Furthermore, many of the currently used fungicides have the disadvantage of being dangerous for the health of exposed persons and the environment.
For many decades, fungicides have also been used to prevent fungal growth on food products such as cheeses and sausages. EP 0 986 965 A1 describes the use of imazalil sulphate to treat cheeses and sausages and protect them against fungal growth. U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,598 describes the combined treatment of food products with two acids and the polyene macrolide antimycotic natamycin. This natural preservative, which is produced by fermentation using Streptomyces natalensis, is widely used throughout the world as a food preservative and has a long history of safe use in the food industry. It is very effective against all known food spoilage fungi. Although natamycin has been applied for many years in e.g. the cheese industry, up to now development of resistant fungal species was never observed.
Consequently, it can be concluded that there is a severe need for more effective, more environmental friendly, lower-toxicity and less harmful antimicrobial compositions, e.g. antifungal compositions, for the treatment of fungal growth in and on plants and crops.